Zen and the Art of Tokyo’s iPhone Lines

Harajuku’s original iPhone musketeers: Mr. Kami, center, back in the day when he was number two in line.

You know all about Japan’s biggest iPad fan. Now meet Yuta Kami, possibly Japan’s most ill-starred iPhone 4 fan — undone by his social media habits.

Early Thursday, the first of Apple’s new all-singing, all-dancing phones were being officially handed out to hundreds of eager believers in central Tokyo, happily recording the event on all manner of Twitter feeds and Ustream internet broadcast accounts. And back on Tuesday, things were looking pretty good for 21-year-old Mr. Kami‘s prospects of getting his already-reserved iPhone 4 before almost everyone else.

But then he tweeted, and from number two in the line, he eventually dropped back one hundred places.

The college student hadn’t quite achieved his dream of being first in line for the official start of sales when he first arrived at local supplier Softbank’s flagship Harajuku store — with the device going on sale in five countries today, the time difference means Japan’s Apple geeks will be technically the first in the world to get theirs paws on the shiny new product. But he did get there second. Perhaps a little disappointing for a hardcore Apple gear lover — already the owner of an iPod touch, a Macbook, a Macbook Air, an iPad and a previous generation iPhone. At least he also made some great new buddies. “I thought about going home,” he said Tuesday, “but I decided to stay for the festival atmosphere.”

But the best-laid plans went awry Wednesday. In the world of Japan’s hyper-organized habitual line-forming for whatever the latest fad is, there is an unsaid rule that you can’t leave your space for anything other than a comfort or snack break without roping in a friend as a stand-in. Problem number one — Mr. Kami had an afternoon university lecture at which attendance was compulsory for his hoped-for graduation. Problem number two — less-iPhone 4-centric friends he had tried to organize as stand-ins failed to show. Problem number three — rather than fessing up to his new buddies in line, who said they would have saved his spot on the sly “because we’re all mates now”, Mr. Kami went beyond the point of no return: he tweeted his plight to the world, scratching out the possibility of a cover-up.

Undeterred, he got back in the line after his lecture — at position number 102.

Mr. Kami took a Zen-like philosophical view on his adventures though. “I knew I had to go to this lecture before I got in line yesterday, so when I realized my friends wouldn’t come, knowing I was going to be number two anyway (rather than first), I didn’t mind giving the position to Manabu (new friend Manabu Ishiyama, originally number three in line).”

Mr. Kami also set his sights on a silver lining. Turning his social media downfall to his advantage as evening fell on the lengthening line outside the Softbank Harajuku store, he tweeted a girl. Not your regular Apple fan, though — one of a growing band of prodigious Japanese tweeters and Ustreamers becoming famous in a minor way for, well, tweeting and Ustreaming. “I tweeted a famous Japanese Ustream star – Ms Sorano,” Mr. Kami explained. “She’s coming later (in Japanese) and agreed to meet me in the line, so I’m going to keep giving up my space until I come across her.” Even for hardcore Apple fans, there’s more to life than the iPhone 4.

And what of original iPad line hero, Takechiyo Yamanaka? Reality bites. Mr. Yamanaka said that even though it might have been fun to go along, he’ll “quietly watch from home” this time around as his Apple budget is a little depleted for the time being.